Changes of opponent have become commonplace in the UFC recent months, but not all have been quite as dramatic of a shift as welterweight Martin Kampmann’s path to Saturday’s “UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva” event.

But while Kampmann was forced to adapt both his preparation and fight strategy after receiving a new opponent, the Danish striker recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he’s just happy to have a fight.

“I’m just happy someone stepped up,” Kampmann said. “New Year’s and Christmas [were] coming up, so I knew it might be hard to find an opponent. If I was getting in Christmas mode, and I was asked to take a tough fight on short notice, I would probably say, ‘[Expletive], I’ve got family coming. It’s Christmas.’

“I could see a lot of reason to turn down the fight, so I’m happy somebody stepped up, and I’m happy I’m still fighting.”

Despite his joy in still having a fight, Kampmann admitted he was forced to adjust his strategy. Still, he feels more than prepared for the fight.

“The opponent is totally different,” Kampmann said. “[Volkmann] is a wrestler and a grappler, but I think his standup doesn’t look so good. I’m pretty sure he’s going to try and take the fight to the ground, or try to, at least.

“Markham, who I was supposed to fight, he was all standup. He knocks people out and wanted to keep it standing. So, they’re totally different opponents, but I’ll be prepared.”

Some of Kampmann’s eagerness to get back in the cage undoubtedly stems from his September TKO loss to Brit Paul Daley. Kampmann admitted he’s still a bit frustrated about his performance.

“I just made a bad decision,” Kampmann said. “I got punched, and instead of taking it cooler and stepping back a little bit, I got fired up, and I wanted to hit him back. That’s kind of stupid. I got caught, and I got rocked.

“I think they stopped the fight too early because I’ve been knocked down before and won fights. I was still on my feet. Obviously I was hurt. I was rocked, but I’ve been rocked in a lot of fights and come back and won. I’ve never been knocked out, but I’ve been knocked down a lot of times and still come back and won fights. So I think it was stopped prematurely, but I’m more disappointed in myself.”

Kampmann has used that frustration as fuel in the gym.

“I can learn from it,” Kampmann said. “I need to sometimes be more cautious. Going in and trading punches with a heavy hitter like that is not the smartest thing to do.

“I do that in sparring sometimes, too. If somebody catches me with a big shot, I get pissed off. I want to get them back. But sometimes, you’ve got to keep your emotions in check and say, ‘OK, I’ll get them back in a little bit. Keep your cool.'”

Kampmann may have had a chance to put that theory to the test with Markham, but it will be his ever-improving wrestling skills that will be put to the test while facing Volkmann.

While admittedly a novice just a short time ago, Kampmann said not to be surprised when you see him flash improved grappling skills.

“I think I have decent jiu-jitsu,” Kampmann said. “I think my wrestling has improved a lot, too. I work with some good wrestlers in training, and I’ve been working a lot on my wrestling lately.”

But if things are going as planned for the Xtreme Couture product, Kampmann said it’s safe to assume he’ll be looking to stand and bang.

“I don’t want to use my wrestling offense much in this fight,” Kampmann said. “I want to work more on my defense.

“I’m expecting him to be on the offense for the takedowns, but I’ll be happy to keep it standing.”

And as for Daley?

“I think it’s a fight I should have won,” Kampmann said. “I think it’s a fight I will win. Anything can happen in a fight, but I think it’s a fight I should have won at least nine times out of 10, so I’d love to have that rematch.”

For complete coverage of UFC 108, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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